Diablo 3: New Necromancer Details Revealed

In a video question-and-answer session, Diablo 3‘s visual effects artist and senior game designer reveal new information about the title’s upcoming Necromancer class.

During BlizzCon 2016’s keynote speech, developer and publisher Blizzard Entertainment announced that an exciting new update would be coming to its hack-and-slash RPG title, Diablo 3. Blizzard mentioned its plans to launch the Necromancer class to the game as a DLC, and would be set for release sometime in 2017. Good news came this week for those still waiting to hear more about the forthcoming Necromancer class: the Diablo 3team sat down to answer a long list of questions, diving into details along the way.

On January 26, 2017, Diablo 3 Lead Effects artist Julian Love and Senior Game Designer Travis Day came together with the title’s Community Manager Brandy Camel, taking to Facebook on a mission to clear the air about what’s soon coming to the game. Before the trio began, Camel gave a disclaimer: “We won’t be talking today about the launch date or pricing. Those things just aren’t ready yet.” Despite no set release date or price point, a ton of interesting information was discussed regarding Diablo III‘s DLC pack.

The previous Necromancer class seen in Diablo 2 was used as inspiration, the “jumping off point,” for the class to be included in Diablo 3. With the updated class, however, comes differences, and the team emphasized that the two titles’ Necromancers would have no lore connection. This Necro will be much different than the Witch Doctor; will go without poison and Iron Maiden for “cooler” gameplay; will not be able to wield non-class-specific items; and may include Melee options and new weapons, including two-handed scythes.

Additionally, the Diablo 3 Necromancer class will include golems, and currently four or five new types of golems are being developed. Pets are still available in Necro, though some will only be temporary, and can dole out the damage instead of a player’s main character. Two important things mentioned in the session are the inclusion of Decrepify in the Necromancer’s arsenal (which was shown in the BlizzCon sneak peek) and the fact that players must own Reaper of Souls to play the Necromancer DLC.

Of course, much more was revealed in the 47-minute-long Q&A session. To get the full scoop on what’s coming to Diablo 3‘s Necromancer, fans can check out the video in its entirety, which has now been uploaded to Diablo‘s YouTube channel.

Diablo 3 is no stranger to rolling out entertaining updates sure to pique fans’ interests. Just last month, the title included a retro-style boss to its 2.4.3 update in celebration of its 20th anniversary. Addressing questions and answering them in-depth bodes well for Blizzard and the Diablo III team. Though no official statement has been given as to when the Necromancer DLC will be available, it’s a safe bet to believe the loyal Diablo fans will be highly satisfied with it when they finally get their hands on it.

Diablo 3 is available now for Mac, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.